Assembly-members unhappy with activities of chiefs

Some assembly members in the Asante Akim North Municipality have criticised chiefs in their localities for engaging in activities inimical to national development. According to them, most chiefs did not only undermine efforts to bring development to their electoral areas but also pursued their personal interest at the detriment of the people. The assembly-members were contributing to a survey presented by the Municipal Oversight Committee (MOC) of the African Peer Review Mechanism, at a workshop atKonongo on Monday. The workshop was organised by the National African Peer Review Mechanism-Governing Council (NAPRM-GC) for the assembly members to deliberate on the survey conducted by the MOC. As part of its mandate, the MOC conducted a survey on the four thematic areas of the APRM which includes; Democracy and Political Governance, Economic Governance and Management, Corporate Governance and Socio-economic Development. The survey, which was presented by Mr George Kyei-Barfour, Chairman of the MOC, suggested that 48 per cent of the respondents appreciated the role of chiefs in national development. This attracted swift responses from the assembly-members who claimed the figure was misleading and should have been lower than 48 per cent, saying most chiefs were not development oriented. They were, however, divided over the most corrupt public institution which turned out to be the Police Service as they expressed divergent views on the issue. Dr Francis Appiah, Executive Secretary of NAPRM-GC, commended the MOC for its commitment and assured its members that the findings would be incorporated in the national document to peer review other African countries. He said the deliberation had brought to the fore some challenges and opportunities which could be explored to improve on the livelihood of the people. Mr Thomas Osei-Bonsu, the Municipal Chief Executive, assured the MOC of the assembly's support and urged them to avoid partisan politics in their activities in the interest of the people.